Foot rest for accelerator pedals



April 28, 1931. s. F. BASHARA 1,302,364

FOOT REST FOR ACCELERATQR PEDALS Filed Nov. 27, 1928 W 3mm;

v I Gnome Patented Apr. 28, 1931 UNITED STATES SAMUEL I. BASHABA, OFHOUSTON, TEXAS I'OO'I. BEST FOR ACCELERATOR PEDALS Application fliedNovember 27, 1928. Serial No. 822,217.

My invention relates to devices for use particularly with automobilesand forming a foot rest for the driver of the vehicle closely adjacentto and connected with the acceler- 6 ator pedal.

In difiere'nt makes of automobiles difierent arrangements of theaccelerator pedal are provided and in some of them the manufacturerprovides, adjacent to the pedal, a sta- 10 tionary support or foot restupon which the foot of the driver ma be largely supported during thedriving the car- In some of these constructions the stationary foot restis placed immediately to the right of the accelerator pedal, it beingcontemplated that the driver will rest the side of his foot against thesupport and tilt the sole of his shoe over against the accelerator pedalto depress it as desired. This foot rest is of some value but so themanner in which the driver is compelled to incline his foot to obtainany pressure upon the accelerator pedal becomes tiresome and isobjectionable, particularly upon long drives. In other makes of motorvehicles there may be a support for the foot close to the pedal on theside adjacent the driver, and it is contemplated in this support thatthe driver P will rest his foot upon the support and tilt his footforwardly to press the pedal. This is ,0 also subject to the objectionof being tiresome to operate.

It is an object of my invention to provide aconnection between thesupporting foot rest and the accelerator pedal which will make itpossible for the driver to operate his accelerator without dilficultyandin such a convenient manner that he may drive theoar without the usualtiresome eflect.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a cushion foot rest tospan the space between the accelerator and the support post which is soconstructed that it will be flexible between the two members.

It is also desired that a resilient cushion be provided for the foot ofthe driver in operating his pedal and from which his foot may not easilyslip in use.

Referring to the drawings herewith wherein the device is illustrated asapplicable to w dilierent accelerator pedals, in Fig. 1 is shown atransverse section along the foot board of a motor vehicle showing thefoot rest and the accelerator pedal connected by means of my device, theview being largely in section.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the connecting member forming thesubject of my invention.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a different embodiment of my mvention asapplied to another type of accelerator pedal.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the device shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a to Ian view of a still difierent embodiment o t e invention.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through the 66 device disclosed in Fig.5; and

Fig. 7 is a transverse section through a form similar to that shown inFig. 1.

Referring to the embodiment shown in-Fig.

1, I have represented at 1 an ordinary foot 70 board upon which theaccelerator pedal is mounted. An opening 2 is formed in the foot boardthrough which passes a rod 3 upon which is mounted the pedal 4, said rodbeing understood as connected with a lever, oper- 7 ating the supply offuel, to the motor and this dal is herein referred to as the acceleratorpedal. The pedal is held in normall raised position by a coil sprin 5bearing etween the foot board 1 and tie pedal 4, or said so spring maybe placed at some point adjacent t e carburetor as is a common practice.

Adjacent the pedal and spaced slightly to the right side thereof is ashort postfi, having on the upper end thereof a plate or head 7 uponwhich it is contemplated that the driver will rest the sole of his shoe.Thus in the ordinary use of this device the driver would tip his foot tothe left, forcing the pedal down and operating the accelerator, restingat part of the weight of his foot, however, upon the plate 7.

In order to form a better support for the foot of the operator Icontemplate forming a foot rest 8 which is preferably made of rub- 96her or similar composition which will be flexible and also capable ofsupporting the foot of the operator. This foot rest or pad, as shown inFig. 2, is of an elongated oval shape, having on its lower side adjacenteach Mill end and recesses 9 and 10. It is designed that the recess 9may be engaged over the head 4 of the accelerator pedal and the re cess10 to be engaged over the head plate 7 of the supportm post so that thedownwardly extendin Tips of the pad will receive and engage hoth thepedal and the support member. There will thus be a free dplay of the pad8 upon the support post an the edal so that a fiat supporting foot restwill he obtained upon which the operator may rest the sole of his shoewhile driving. To shift the foot of the driver to the right will causethe weight of the drivers foot to be supported largely upon the 0st 6and the accelerator pedal will be one ected, but when the weight of thedrivers foot is shifted slightly to theleft the accelerator pedal isdepressed in proportion to the amount of weight which the driver placesupon the accelerator end of the pad 8. The recesses 9 and 10 will allowthe pad to pivot or rock about the top of either the pedal or post inany direction so that the ad will follow the movement of the driversFoot. It will be noted that the pad or cushion 8 is of less thicknessbetween its ends or in other words there is a cutout portion whichleaves but a thin bridge of material between the post and pedal. In thismanner a hinge is formed which permits a flexing action of the pad.

To accommodate my invention to accelerators in which there is a pedalsuch as shown at 11, in Figs. 3 and 5,1 may change the shape of theplate somewhat. In this form of pedal there is a rod 3 whichistconnected with a pedal 11 which is pivoted at 12 forward upon thedash board but which extends rearwardly for connection with the head ofthe post 3. The foot supporting post 6 in this embodiment is directly tothe rear of the pedal toward the driver. The plate 8', which I employ asa foot rest with this type of accelera tor pedal, has a recess 10 on itslower side to fit over the head 7 of the support post. The forward endof the plate 81 is formed with two parallel flanges or ridges 13 towardthe forward end, spaced apart to fit on each side of the pedal 11.

Thus in operating this device the driver will rest his foot upon theplate 8 and, in case the accelerator is not to be depressed appreciably,the foot will be drawn back to rest largely upon the support 6, but whenthe accelerator pedal is to be depressed the driver will thrust his footforwardly andplace the pressure upon the forward end of the foot rest sothat said foot rest will be swung upon the upper end ofthe postforwardly to operate the accelerator.

In Figs. 5 and 6 the foot rest is shown as being accommodated to a stilldifierent type of foot support. The support in this case is made up of alJ-shaped supporting member 14. The said U-shaped member is inverted,

the lower ends of the legs being secured at 15 to the foot board. Theaccelerator pedal in this embodiment is the same as that shown in Fig.1, the support being, however, on the side of the accelerator toward thedriver. The plate 8" in this embodiment is engaged at its forward endupon the accelerator pedal in the same manner as in the Fig. 1embodiment. The rearward side toward the driver, however, has twoparallel downwardly extending ridges 15, which receive between them theupper arm of the U-shaped support 14;. The foot rest is thus adapted torock about the support 14 and be depressed for operation in the samemanner as in the embo iment shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The embodiments of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive show myinvention adapted to be applied to accelerators now installed, but whenthe device is placed on a car at the factory, the accelerator pedal andthe post may be formed without the upper head or plate 4 or 7 thereon,and the connecting foot rest 8 may have plates or caps 16 imbedded inthe bod of the plate or foot rest as shown. The pedhl 3" and the post 6"may then fit within the recesses in the plate and into the cupped lowersides of the caps 16. The device will then operate as in the previousembodiments, except that a rocking movement of the rubber pad may occurso that the top of the pad or cushion will tilt to the plane of the soleof the drivers shoe. This is of material advantage as it eases thepressure'on the foot and distributes it over a greater area.

It is to be seen from the structures heretofore described thatfny deviceis adapted for application to any ordinary type of accelerator pedal. Ifno foot rest is provided with the pedal upon the vehicle one may easilybe mounted in such manner as to adapt my invention thereto. Bythe use ofthis device the driver is enabled to support his foot upon theaccelerator pedal during the time he is driving, at any point along thefoot rest, whereby the proper pressure may be exerted upon theaccelerator and very little vibration will be experienced throughcontact of the drivers foot with the connecting foot rest. The operationof working the accelerator be comes much simpler and easier and morerestful to the driver. Not only is the driver better able to operate theaccelerator but a resilient cushion is formed, making the operationeasier upon the driver. Further the feeding of fuel may be more steadilyand uniformly accomplished through the ease of operation of theaccelerator where it is equipped with this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described, including a resiliently mountedpedal, a stationary post adjacent thereto, and flexible means detachablyresting 011 said pedal and post, forming a foot rest between them.

2. A device of the characterdescribed, including a resiliently mountedpedal, a stationary post adjacent thereto, and a detachable flexible padresting on said pedal and adapted to pivot about said post and forming aconnecting foot rest.

3. A device of the character described, including a resiliently mountedpedal, a stationary post adjacent thereto, and a plate of resilientmaterial resting on said pedal at one end and supported on said post atthe other end, said device being detachable.

4. In combination, a pedal, means to hold said pedal normally raised,and a foot rest of flexible rubber pivotally supported at one end andresting upon said pedal at the other end, a pair of cup-like openingsformed on the underside of said foot rest to receive said pedal and thesupport.

5. In combination, a pedal, means to hold saidpedal normally raised, anda foot rest pivotally supported at one end, and resting upon said pedalat the other end, thus forming a foot rest in the operation of saidpedal, said foot. rest being of flexible compressible material anddetachable from said pedal.

6. A pad of flexible material having recesses therein on one side toreceive a post and a pedal, and adapted to form a connecting footsupport between said post and pedal.

7. A pad of flexible material having recesses therein on one side toreceive a post and a pedal, said pad being flat on the other 1 side andadapted to form a connecting foot rest.

8. An accelerator pedal, an upright support of approximately the sameheight adj acent thereto and a pad of flexible material removablyresting on said pedal and adapted to rock on said support.

9. A cushion for accelerator pedals including a rubber cushion memberadapted to rest upon the accelerator pedal and extend laterallytherefrom to a support member, said cushion member having upwardlyextending recesses therein to receive and engage both the pedal and thesupport member.

10. In a foot rest accelerator pad, means to detachably engage theaccelerator pedal and the support post, and a hinge portion between saidpedal and post which is flexible to accommodate movement of the pedal.

11. An accelerator pad, means on said pad to releasably engage theaccelerator, a hinge portion on said pad adjacent said means, and

SAMUEL F. BASHARA.

additional means to releasably engage the support post. Y 12. A cushionfor accelerator pedals including a pad of moulded rubber, means thereinto receive the pedal and the foot support- 0st, and a thin bridge ofmaterial joining t e pedal and post-engaging means.

